The facility, scheduled to be complete in the fourth quarter, would be used to research, develop and enhance products for the company's full line of snack foods, according to Snyder's-Lance.

There are no immediate plans to add new employees to the research center, but operation and staffing details have not yet been finalized, according to the company.

The research facility will use green technologies and design, including drawing 100 percent of its electricity from a nearby 26-acre solar farm, the company said. Its solar farm now supplies about 30 percent of the electricity needed for the manufacturing facilities in Penn Township.

Snyder's-Lance, based in Charlotte, formed in 2010 through a merger of Lance Inc. and Snyder's of Hanover. Snyder's-Lance trades its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LNCE.